More Than Partners, More Than Friends
by gawilliams
Summary: After the under cover assignment in early season 3, Ziva makes up her mind about Tony and pays him a visit.
1. Chapter 1

_Here's one that takes place right after the under cover assignment in season 3 where Tony and Ziva take the place of the assassin couple. I've seen some stories that look at that, but I wanted to put in my own take on the aftermath. While some of the emotional attachment between the two, even if unexpressed between them until later in the story, may seem premature in terms of the timeline of the series, I saw the glimmers of the emotions between them when I rewatched some of the surrounding episodes to the one that this takes off from. I hope you enjoy it. Gregg._

_Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

Ziva was sitting in her apartment after having gotten home from NCIS. The under cover op had been successful, and she had been genuinely surprised that Tony had done so well. The man had taken a beating and did exactly what was expected of him. Sure he was a trained federal agent, but he was not trained in dealing with torture, no matter how amateurish, whereas she was. She'd seen a side to Tony that she hadn't imagined was there buried under all the bluster and childish behavior. He was a man, and one that could be counted on in dire circumstances. More than that, he'd proven that he was a damn good partner. She'd never had that in Mossad. She had had colleagues. She had had handlers, and others she had handled. She'd had many casual lovers while on assignment in order to maintain a cover, or entice an enemy, or simply deal with the stresses of the assignment. But never had she had someone she could consider a partner.

As she thought about all of this she began to wonder if there could be something more than just a partnership with Tony. When she had first read his personnel file she had been intrigued by his good looks and his record. Then she had met him and the lusty feelings that were always present when a hot guy was in front of her came to the fore and she'd seriously considered taking him to her hotel and fucking him senseless. But that was before she had killed Ari and she had become the Liaison to NCIS, thus making anything that developed with Tony much more than a casual lay one night.

There were only two distinct issues that were making her wonder if it was a good idea to act on her desires for Tony. First was the feeling she had that while Tony had not been involved with Kate, he had been in love with her and that it was only a matter of time before something would have developed. She was not sure if she was comfortable with being something of a sympathy relationship, despite how she really felt. Second was Gibbs. His rules for the most part were very sensible and made for a smoother running team. But there was one that didn't make sense. Number 12. Never date coworkers, or something to that effect. Ridiculous in her opinion, but she respected Gibbs and didn't want to disappoint him.

Of course she could always go to a bar and pick up some random guy to take home and have her way with, and she had done that a couple of times already since being in DC as the Liaison, but was that all she wanted? A string of one night stands, as Tony calls them, that mean nothing outside of simply having a night of pleasure? She'd done so in the past, but something was different. Perhaps it was the fact that her situation was stable as opposed to running ops in Mossad. She wasn't constantly coming and going with no time for anything other than a one night stand.

She also thought about the times in the hotel room with Tony and the very sexy playfulness they had. She had thoroughly enjoyed watching him doing pushups over her, and spent much of that time looking at his well defined chest. Her arousal had been high, but she'd held back. For some reason she had wanted him to think highly of her, and she felt that if she had blatantly taken him right there he would lose the respect for her that she saw in his eyes at times. It hadn't kept her from copping a good feel of his ass and giving him a new nickname, though. **_My Little Hairy Butt_**. She smiled as she thought of that. She was definitely going to tease him with that for some time.

What about now, though? The operation was over. They were back to being Tony and Ziva. Would Gibbs really break up an effective team simply because the two of them decided to pursue a possible relationship? She didn't think so. She was also sure that Tony had some definite feelings for her that went well beyond a simple desire to see how she was in bed. As far as the issue about his feelings for Kate, she was sure that while he was working through his emotional issues, he had made his peace with it. There really was nothing to keep them from getting together. Her mind made up, she changed clothes and then left her apartment.

Across town Tony was barely moving. His whole body ached, and his jaw was on fire with even the slightest movement. He had on the movie _Rambo III_ and was at least able to enjoy watching Rambo kicking ass in the Afghan desert. Whenever he felt battered and bruised he put in either a Stallone film, or a Schwarzenegger film. It made him feel more macho and tough.

His thoughts, though, kept wandering to Ziva. He had to keep himself from laughing at the nickname she gave him. He would never admit it, and he would shoot Probie if he ever gave him shit about it, but he actually liked it. He could have done without all the pushups, though. Damn it was hard to do those things on a mattress. He'd tried to keep from simply dropping down on Ziva and going at it with her right there. He could well imagine Gibbs head slapping the shit out of him if he had. Head slaps, though, would be a fondly wished for punishment compared to what he would get. Hell, he'd probably wish for the good old days of having the crap beat out of him as he was tied to that chair.

He knew everyone thought of him as some snobby frat boy who got off on one night stands and making a complete fool of himself. But he could see that Ziva had pierced the surface layer of smart ass and seen the real Tony DiNozzo. The fact that she'd given him that nickname and smiled with real caring behind it had convinced him of that. Would it be so bad to be involved with her?

There was the disturbing issue of his feelings for Kate that he was still struggling with. The feelings between the two had been building steadily, especially after the plague quarrantine, but had been ruthlessly snuffed out by that bastard Ari. The truth was he had been in love with Kate. He'd been on the verge of taking her to one of those dinners they had every couple of weeks and telling her how he really felt. Now it was in the past and a closed chapter in his life. Could he move on this soon? It was sad, but yes he could. He wasn't one to let personal anguish hold him back too long.

Before he could think anymore on the subject someone knocked on the door. Groaning, he slowly got up off the couch and made his way to the door. Opening it he was shocked to see Ziva standing there.

"Ziva?" he asked.

"May I come in?" she asked. She could see right away he was in pain, and she did not like that he was suffering. It was one more piece to the puzzle of her feelings about this man.

"Sure," Tony said and stiffly moved out of the way. "There's some beer in the fridge. Help yourself."

"Thank you," she said as she watched him maneuver himself over to the couch and very slowly lower himself down onto it. She grabbed two beers and took them over to the couch, handing him one.

"Thanks," Tony said as he took a healthy swig of the beer.

"I think we should break Rule 12," Ziva said bluntly. She watched as all the beer in Tony's mouth went spewing forth across the room and all over his television.

His chest and jaw wracked with pain as he hacked and spluttered, he looked over at her incredulously. "What?" he said in a voice that was definitely not normal. He even let his eyes rapidly look around for hidden cameras and microphones in case Gibbs was testing him or something.

"It is Rule 12, yes? The one that partners should not date?" she asked. Maybe she had the rule number wrong?

"Uh, yeah," he said in a much more normal tone of voice. He was still trying to get over the shock, and also wondering if it was possible to clean Beer off of an LCD screen without destroying it. Damn! He'd just bought the damn thing!

"I think we should break it," she told him. At his incredulous stare, she proceeded to explain to him why, and what she wanted to develop. She really wanted to remove herself from her old patterns, and even though she had nothing against the casual sex she'd always engaged in, she wanted something different now that she was in a situation that made it realistic. She would not date someone who could not appreciate her background, or her current work, and the only one she really believed met that standard was Tony. If he turned her down, then she would simply engage in her pattern of one night stands when the urge to do so hit. She made it clear, though, that she really wanted to be with him, and not in just a casual manner.

"Do you agree?" she asked, still blunt as hell.

Tony had listened to what she had to say, and he could also read between the lines and figure out what some of her _casual liaisons_ had been, and he had to admit that her thinking dovetailed with his own. He did want something more than the casual lifestyle he'd been living, and he also had feelings for her.

"I'm over Kate," he told her in order to put to rest one of the concerns she'd had about approaching him now. He saw a small sigh of relief from her. "But I'm not so sure about Gibbs. The man will slap the shit out of me. My head hurts enough right now as it is."

"Is My Little Hairy Butt afraid of Gibbs?" she teased a bit, knowing that a good teasing comment would be appreciated.

"Your Little Hairy Butt might get skinned alive," he told her, both teasingly, and with a hint of seriousness. "Ziva, he takes his rules seriously. Very seriously."

Ziva had never heard Tony have a serious conversation before, and she decided she liked this serious side to him. It was comforting to know that if things got dicey on a mission she could count on him to take it with the seriousness needed. Her assumptions about this man, and her deductions had been more accurate than she'd thought. She also liked the fact that he, jokingly or otherwise, had implied that his Little Hairy Butt was hers.

"Rules are good," she acknowledged. "But he would not be so foolish as to break up a very effective team over that particular rule. I do not believe that Jen would let him if he tried."

Another thing that she noticed was that she didn't have to struggle with her English as much when she was having a serious discussion with Tony. Sure she'd make a mess of some common clichés, but she didn't feel, or to her ears sound, as if she was constantly working to make sure she was using the right term in everyday conversing. Another piece to the puzzle that was forming in her mind that told her that despite how short a time she'd known him, this was a good thing to develop.

Tony considered this very carefully. His libido was screaming at him to take the chance, but his more rational mind was telling him that this was doable, but also entailed some risk. Mainly from Gibbs, but also, potentially, in the long run if she was forced to go back to Mossad. In the end, though, he couldn't get beyond the simple reality that this amazing, hot, and intelligent woman wanted to be with him. Not for a quick roll in the hay, or some other superficial reason, but simply because he was him. Tony DiNozzo. That made up his mind.

"Alright," he agreed, a smile forming until he winced when his jaw protested.

Ziva felt a wave of relief pass over her. She was also feeling for the first time in many years like someone who had something substantial and positive to look forward to. There was no doubt that this would be difficult, and the divide between them culturally and personally would cause some disputes, but nothing that couldn't be worked out if they were patient. She stood up and went to his door, locking it and then went and pulled the blinds on all the windows.

"Uh, what'ya doin'" Tony asked, a little confused. He gulped when he saw her turn to face him. She had a very sultry look on her face, and her eyes were downright seductive!

"I think it's time for me to get to know My Little Hairy Butt much better," she said as she sauntered over to him, casually removing her shirt, leaving her in her pants and a bra. A very sexy black lace bra.

"Uh, Ziva?" Tony almost had a stroke. "I'm a little worse for wear here so now may not be the best time?"

Ziva smiled as she leaned over his and whispered into his ear. "Don't worry My Little Hairy Butt," she assured him. "I will do all the work. You just sit back and enjoy it. You can make it up to me when you recover from your battle wounds," she told him.

Tony shuddered in anticipation and also the thrill of having his wounds called battle wounds as if he was some warrior God like Rambo. Leaning back slightly, he focused his eyes on Ziva and the sexy moves she was beginning to make. This was going to be one Hell of a great evening!

_A/N: I am going to write one more chapter to this and post it soon where we see what Ziva does to our Rambo wannabe. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Gregg._


	2. Chapter 2

_Well, here's the second chapter to this one. I am seriously looking at continuing this story for a couple of chapters beyond this scene to take them into the work environment with this new dimension to their relationship. I hope this scene is worth the buildup in the last chapter. Gregg._

_Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

Ziva did a slow striptease in front of Tony as he sat there on the couch and stared at her as she revealed her body bit by bit. She enjoyed the reaction when he saw her in just her bra and panties, which were a black, lacy variety which left little to the imagination.

"Does My Little hairy Butt like what he sees?" she teased as she leaned forward again and had her bra clad breasts mere inches from his face.

Tony nodded in vigorous agreement, not trusting his voice to actually function at that moment. His head may be pounding, and his whole body felt like he'd been run over by a Tank, but he couldn't deny the incredibly beautiful sight in front of him.

"Well, then, perhaps you will enjoy this even more," she said as she casually reached back and unhooked her bra, letting the lacy material slide down her arms and off her breasts which were now revealed to him. Her nipples were erect and tight, giving a sign of how aroused she was at that moment.

Tony moaned slightly. "It's not fair," he managed to get out, his voice a bit higher in pitch, and a bit awkward given the state of his jaw.

Ziva chuckled as she knew what he was referring to. "Don't worry," she said in her sexiest voice, enhanced by her accent. "When your jaw is healed, you have my full permission to spend some time letting your lips and tongue learn my body."

Tony made a mental note not to be anywhere near where the bastards were who fucked him up like this. He'd shoot them in the balls for making it impossible to _**fully**_ enjoy this _**first**_ time with Ziva. As it was he was torn between risking his physical health, and scream like a baby, by rapidly grabbing her and taking her right then and there, or simply wanting to have a serious discussion about timing. She wanted him _**NOW**_ when he was one seriously hurting unit? How messed up was that? Taking another serious look at a topless Ziva, though, squelched those thoughts. It was time for The Big D _**down there**_ to take over the _**thinking**_, as well as the _**action**_, part of this evening. His eyes widened in shock, and utter delight, as he watched Ziva turn like a stripper and pull down her panties slowly, bending way down at the waist as she dragged the tiny scrap of lacy material to her ankles, giving him a damn good look at her charms from behind. _Oh My God!_ he thought. She was shaved! With that olive toned skin of hers it was a beautiful sight to behold in Tony's **_very _**biased male opinion.

Ziva slowly straightened and turned around to once more face Tony. She glanced down and smirked at the tenting of his sweat pants. Inwardly she was smiling widely, though. He was quite impressive, as she'd always thought he'd be, and this was while he was still covered. That would change soon, though. She wanted him naked. Naked not only because she wanted to see him naked, but also because she wanted to see the wounds he was now sporting on his body. She knew from experience how much sensual touch, without pressure, could ease the ache of such wounds, and ease the mind of the person who had received those wounds. She made a promise to herself that she would teach Tony the mental techniques that Mossad trained its operatives in to deal with torture, both during and after. She despised the cruelty in the world that allowed such hideous behavior that resulted in torture and all the other atrocities out there, and she hated it all the more when good people such as Tony were forced to endure it. She didn't let him see such thoughts through her expressions, though. Now was for the giving and receiving of pleasure, and the beginning of something potentially very special between them.

"I think someone is overdressed, no?" she teased as she gently eased him forward and removed his t-shirt. She could see his eyes were glued to her breasts, and she inwardly rolled her eyes. Men! She wouldn't have it any other way, though, as her reward for such narrow minds was a good deal of pleasure.

"Unghh...," Tony grunted as she removed his shirt. He wasn't complaining, but it was quite uncomfortable with even that little bit of movement.

"Focus your mind on other things," she gently urged him. She could use this to let him know some benign mental distraction techniques. "I am almost finished."

Tony let his mind think of all the great things that he and Ziva would be doing in just a short bit. Hey! He was a guy and a naked woman was undressing him! He deserved a little slack for having his mind in the proverbial gutter! To his astonishment the pain ebbed a bit and he found her attentions much more enjoyable.

Ziva could see the pain related tension easing up a bit and she was relieved. This was much more for him than it was for her, despite the pleasure she would receive, and she wanted him to know that. She let her eyes catalog the bruising on his ribs and abdomen and she cursed the amateurish manner in which he had been beaten. Torture was torture, but this only left all over pain, which was, in her opinion, much more difficult to recover from physically, if not as effective from the standpoint of the torturer. Mentally there was very little difference as the psychological damage was going to be there regardless, even if more pointed and demeaning when done by professionals. Tony was going to have a long recovery from the physical damage to his ribs and abdomen. He would be working soon, but it would be awhile until he would be back to the Tony that they all knew around the office and at crime scenes.

"And now the jogging pants," she said, letting her tongue lightly moisten her lips in anticipation.

"Sweat pants," Tony corrected. He enjoyed correcting her incorrect terms. He knew jogging pants was accurate, but he preferred the more common term used in the US.

"Sweat pants," she said, making sure she mentally filed it for future reference. She didn't make her usual indifferent comment. That was for teasing and getting a reaction. Right now it was about learning and accepting. "Raise your hips," she said, hooking her fingers in the waistband of the sweat pants he was wearing. When he managed to do so, with effort, she eased them down, not pausing when his erection came into full view, though it was a struggle. She pulled them and his socks off and tossed them to the side.

"Commander, yes?" she teased.

"Commando," Tony corrected with a small chuckle, and a wince when it slammed some pain into his jaw. He shrugged. "I was hurting too much to bother with another layer."

She nodded, her attention on his cock. "Very nice," she said in a sexy, accented purr.

"I aim to please," he quipped. On the inside he was doing a fist pump and shouting "YES!" Impressing someone such as Ziva, he had a feeling, was not so easy, even in the sexual arena. Not with her experience and wide range of casual partners over the years. He wasn't naïve, and he could read between the lines, so he was very aware of her past proclivities, if not the specifics.

"I am quite certain that very few women would complain after having this to give them pleasure," she said as she ran a passing hand over his erection. She resisted the temptation to take him in hand and begin stroking him in order to start learning him by feel. That could wait for now, though it was a difficult decision. He really was impressive. As it was she could feel a rush of moisture pool between her legs as she had that all too brief feel of him. It brought a pleasurable shudder coursing through her.

"_**Never**_ had any complaints," he boasted just a bit, figuring that she wouldn't mind the banter.

She chuckled. "Well, we will have to test that tonight, yes?"

"Oh, yeah!" Tony said with as much enthusiasm in his voice as his battered jaw would allow.

"Do you trust me?" she asked him. She looked very carefully into his eyes, taking in every subtle nuance in a glance.

"Of course," he told her without hesitation. He wondered what she was getting at.

Ziva sat on the couch next to him, angled towards him. "I've learned this from personal experience," she told him as she lightly ran her hands along the bruising on his chest and abdomen. "Light touches on wounds, such as these, soothe," she continued, leaning forward and lightly brushing her lips on the angriest of the bruises. "Knowing a person is willing to take the time to soothe a wounded person makes dealing with the emotional trauma that much easier, as well," she continued her light perusal of his wounds, her lips following her hands as she continued brushing them along his abdomen and torso. She kept her voice light, and soft as she did this, wanting him to be more aware of the cadence rather than the words, as the feel would be more than self-explanatory.

Tony sighed as she did all this. It did pain him that she would have gone through this, and likely much worse, at times during her missions for Mossad and then have to let someone in to minister to her like this. But he was also grateful that she knew this and was able to help him. Such a dichotomy of views made him uncomfortable as he liked to believe that the concept of right and wrong was black and white, despite what his general lifestyle, and surface layer of smart ass, suggested.

Ziva spent a lot of time working her way through his visible wounds, soothing and memorizing, as well as learning some of his pleasure points. She noted with an evil grin that he loved having his nipples teased and played with. A good many men she had been with had not liked that, claiming they were too sensitive to the touch, but Tony did enjoy it, and she was going to use that to her advantage when he was well enough to really reciprocate the attention she was lavishing on him. Glancing down she saw that his erection was visibly straining now. She smiled knowingly as she herself was getting even more turned on with this sensual activity. Normally sex for her was a bit rough and lusty, which she enjoyed, so being able to have experiences of sensual pleasure was a very nice change of pace. It showed her the benefits of a possible stable relationship with Tony. Moving up, she spent some time paying attention to his neck, particularly his pulse points. Finally she made it to his sore jaw and peppered it with feather light kissed along the length of the bruising. All the while she had been paying attention to his moans of pleasure and the occasional words of encouragement coming from him. She could tell that both of them were ready to explode. While she would love to go down on him and pleasure him orally for a while, she knew that he wouldn't last.

"It's alright My Little Hairy Butt," she crooned in his ear as she straddled him. "Just enjoy this. Let me do all the work," she teased as she lifted herself and then lowered herself down on his cock, loving how he filled and stretched her so deliciously. She let loose a moan of her own as she settled down on him, fully impaled on his length.

"Jesus!" Tony exhaled, knowing that this was pure Heaven. He was so on edge right now he was amazed he hadn't exploded already.

Ziva groaned as she began to slide up and down on him, picking up speed as she did so, though not so much as to hurt him. She knew that he would not be terribly comfortable with anything other than a gentle motion from her. Instead she used her inner muscles to give him more pleasure, and herself, too, as she continued riding him. His cock was perfect for hitting her in all the right spots, including on some strokes her G-spot. She could feel her orgasm coming on strong, that tightening coil in her abdomen, the fluttering of her inner muscles, and the almost blinding buildup in her mind as the shudders coursed through her. She used as much control as she could, though, as she wanted him to cum with her.

"Let it go," she encouraged him. "Cum with me," she urged. She felt him swell and lengthen inside of her and then he exploded, shouting her name as he did so. That triggered her own explosion and she screamed loudly, almost incoherently a number of obscene words and phrases in Hebrew, but also Tony's name mixed in as well. The tremors subsided gradually, and she continued riding him slower and slower until finally she stopped, almost breathless from the power of her orgasm.

She prevented herself from collapsing forward, instead leaning gently against him, her head alongside of his. Her breathing gradually returned to normal, and she could tell when his did, too. She kissed him gently on the side of his mouth, the side where his jaw was the least affected from the beating he took earlier.

"That was wonderful," she told him, and she meant it. Even though she had done all the work, and he was unable to do much in the way of participating, it had been a wonderfully powerful experience. "How do you feel?" she asked, hoping the he was okay.

"A lot better than when you first got here," he told her, kissing her back as carefully as he could. "You're incredible," he told her in a husky tone of voice.

"May I stay the night?" she asked, hoping he would say yes. She wanted to, which was also a change for her from her past practices.

"You can stay as long as you want, Z," Tony said, frowning as his cock, now somewhat limp, the traitor, slipped from her warmth.

Ziva noticed his frown and knew what it was about. She chuckled. "Don't worry My Little Hairy Butt. He will be back inside of me soon enough."

"Promise?" he teased eagerly.

"I promise My Little hairy Butt," she smirked, noting that not all of the smart ass was going to be eliminated at once. Oh well, she enjoyed his childish, eager behavior, too, so this was a workable situation.

Reluctantly she got off of him and leaned down, her hand on his. "Let's go to bed," she told him. "You need to rest. Tomorrow, we talk, yes?"

Tony stifled a yawn. "You're right," he replied. He groaned as she helped him stand up. "What do you think Gibbs will do about Rule 12?"

Ziva shrugged. "Like I said earlier, I don't think Jen would let him split up the team, but he may be complicated for awhile," she replied.

"Difficult, Z, not complicated," he corrected her. He groaned some more when he was lowered onto the bed and she covered him. He smiled as she walked to the bathroom. The view was spectacular.

Ziva came back to the bedroom after cleaning up and slipped under the covers next to him. "We will deal with Gibbs when you come back to work in a week, no?" she told him, snuggling in close, careful not to jostle him very much. "For now, we sleep."

Within minutes both were asleep.

_A/N: The next chapter will be when Tony gets back to work and Gibbs finds out that Rule 12 has been broken. I hope you enjoyed this one. Gregg._


	3. Chapter 3

_Here's one more chapter to this one. I may extend it one more chapter depending on how you all like this one, but I haven't committed to it yet. I hope you enjoy it. Gregg._

_Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

A fully dressed Ziva David came into Tony DiNozzo's bedroom to find him stiffly pulling on his socks. It was Tony's first day back to work since the under cover operation, and while he was much better, he was still not fully recovered.

"That is why you are going to be shooting a desk, yes," Ziva said, a slight chuckle in her voice. While she was still angered that Tony had had to go through what he did, he was rather humorous to observe.

"It's flying a desk, but shooting one will probably be what I want to do by the end of the day," Tony corrected as he sat up straight. He felt a stirring below the belt when he got a good look at her. "Why do you always have to look so hot?" he moaned out loud.

"I look hot in this?" Ziva asked, a little bewildered at the male mind. All she had on was her usual cargo pants, t-shirt, and hoodie. It was functional and infinitely practical. How was that in any way hot?

"Trust me, Sweet Cheeks," Tony said, using his favorite nickname for her. "A guy knows when a girl is hot, and you're definitely hot."

"So Little Tony is sending you some signals, yes?" she questioned teasingly.

"Hey, watch the _little_, Sweet Cheeks," Tony said, a bit sensitive about any "little" comments like all guys would be. He had nothing to worry about in fact, but the comments were difficult to let by without some indignation. "He prefers being called _The Big D_, and I should hope you'd agree with that after the last week."

Ziva chuckled. The last week had been one evening of fabulous sex after another. And while she would never give him the satisfaction, she had to admit that he was indeed big. The orgasms that _**The Big D**_ had provided her while inside of her had been amazing.

"I am serious, Tony," she said with some concern. "Don't overdo anything. Gibbs will understand, and so will everyone else."

"I hope he understands about our _**obliterating**_ Rule 12," Tony grumbled. He'd been worried about it all the past week, and there had been a couple of times in the early evening when Ziva had been giving him some "personal" attention, that Gibbs had called to check up on him. Each time Tony had almost had a stroke. He stood up. "How do I look?" he asked.

"You look fine, My Little Hairy Butt," she said, adding in her own favorite nickname for him.

"Ziva?" he warned, drawing her name out in a drawl. The last thing he wanted was for Gibbs and the rest to know what she called him. Probie would never let him hear the end of it, and Gibbs would make his life a living Hell for all eternity with his dry witticisms.

She smiled. "Don't worry, I won't let anyone know what I call you," she told him.

"Thank God," he sighed in relief. "Let's go."

The first couple of hours had been pretty simple, and he'd been visited by everyone at one point or another. Ducky had come up and questioned him about his medications and how he was coping with the aftermath of his experience. Abby had almost killed him with her excited hug, and then promptly apologized when she had seen his face scrunching in pain. She'd brought him her farting hippo for company while he was at work, though she'd told him that the little guy was not to leave the building. Probie had loaded him down with files as far as the eye could see, and then a couple of books that actually looked interesting. Not that he'd tell Probie that, but he was touched. Even Director Sheppard had come down and let him know that if he needed it he could have more time off. The real shocker was when Gibbs had come in, handed him a cup of coffee, and said it was for the wounded hero. Now that was not Gibbs! But he wasn't about to knock getting a free cup of coffee from the Boss.

All through the morning, though, he could sense Ziva's eyes on him, carefully cataloging every move he made to see if he was okay. Tony was a bit nervous about that. Gibbs was not stupid. Anything out of the ordinary put the man on hyper alert and he'd notice _**everything**_. It wasn't going to take long before the shit hit the fan and Gibbs figured out that Rule 12 had been broken any number of times, and _**ways**_, in the last week. He quickly opened a PM to Ziva.

_Ziva! Quit looking at me like that! Gibbs'll know and I will be head slapped from now till Doomsday! Tony._

Naturally that did nothing to quell the stares and looks that Ziva was giving him. Instead there was a ping and he saw he had a PM from her.

_You worry too much My Little Hairy Butt. Ziva._

Tony looked at the message incredulously. Worry too much? Damn straight he worried! He was recovering from being seriously beaten while tied down in a chair. The _**last**_ thing he needed was to get even more poundings from a seriously pissed off former Marine sniper.

_Z. I don't think you understand how much trouble we'll be in. We broke one of Gibbs' rules. And not one of the small ones, either. This one is the Grandaddy of them all! Cool it or your Little Hairy Butt will end up pulling duty in the wastelands of _**very**_ Northern Alaska! He may even pull strings and create an NCIS station for yours truly at the North Pole! I _**don't**_ like the cold, Z. Tony._

Just as Tony saw that she had read the message, and he was not too pleased when he saw her trying not to laugh (somehow he felt that she didn't understand the gravity of this potential disaster) he heard the voice he had been dreading hearing all day.

"DiNozzo! David! My office!" Gibbs barked as he walked by the entrance to the bullpen. He reached back and gave DiNozzo a head slap.

"Ow!" Tony said as he rubbed his heads. "On your six, Boss!" he sang out as he gave Ziva an _**I told you**_ so glare.

The three of them entered the elevator and when it had gone down a few seconds Gibbs hit the stop button and the thing lurched to a halt, the lighting changing to auxiliary mode. Gibbs turned and glared at the two of them.

"Well?" he demanded.

"Bad hair day, Boss?" Tony quipped, which earned him a rather strong head slap.

"Not funny, DiNozzo," Gibbs warned. He crossed his arms, continuing to glare at the two of them. "When did it happen?" he demanded.

"What happen?" Ziva asked, playing dumb. She got her own head slap, but not nearly as forceful as the one Tony got.

"Rule 12," Gibbs supplied. "As in when did the two of you decide to break it?"

"It was all Ziva's fault, Boss!" Tony deflected, earning a very pointed, and menacing, glare from Ziva. "She took advantage of me in my weakened condition!"

"Weakened condition?" Gibbs asked, actually pretty amused. He could imagine the Hell Ziva would be giving DiNozzo when they left work that day.

"Actually, Gibbs, it was all Tony's idea," Ziva said with no hint of subterfuge, and gave a triumphant look over to Tony.

Tony's jaw about dropped. "Boss! I swear...!"

"Oh, give it a rest, DiNozzo!" Gibbs ordered. He gave them one last glare. "Against my better judgment, and at the direct orders of our Director, you can keep on breaking Rule 12. Just keep it away from work. Got it?"

"Yes, Boss!"

"Yes, Gibbs!"

Gibbs stabbed the resume button and the elevator car lurched up. The doors opened and he gave the each a head slap on the way out.

"Get back to work!" he ordered.

"See My Little Hairy Butt? Nothing to worry about," Ziva said as she walked back to the bullpen.

"Little Hairy Butt, Tony?" McGee asked, a wide smile on his face.

Tony froze in horror. "Ziva!" he whined, rushing back to the bullpen. When he rounded the corner of the partition he saw her working away at her computer, a knowing smile on her face. Gibbs was trying hard not to snicker, and it came out as a smirk. With a groan of frustration he made his way back to his desk and got back to work. He just knew this was going to be a long day. His computer pinged, signalling that he had a PM. Opening it, he sat there and stared at the message in shock.

_Give yourself a head slap and get back to work! Gibbs._

Tony slapped the back of his head and diligently got to work on the files. All the while he wondered just how technologically savy Gibbs really was.

"Working, Boss!"

_A/N: Probably a bit anticlimactic, but I wanted to end this on a somewhat funny, but positive note. Thank you for all who reviewed and those that read the story. I hope you all enjoyed it. Gregg._


End file.
